Shock and Awe - The story of electricity.

Amateur radio has a long history, going all the way back to wireless experiments in the late 1800s. However the study of electricity has its roots in the observation of natural phenomena and stretches back much further.

I ran across this excellent three part documentary detailing the story of the discovery of electricity. The presenter is Jim Al-Khalili, currently Professor of Theoretical Physics and Chair in the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Surrey. He not only knows his stuff, he is also an interesting and engaging speaker.

The documentary runs for three hours but is worth your time if you are interested in the story of electricity and the people behind its discovery and history. I hope you find it as enjoyable as I did.

Old Time Radio (OTR) at Archive.org

When tuning across the AM broadcast band I'm often reminded that there is little left but sports radio and talk shows. I'm not particularly against either but I remember that in the past there was a lot more to pick from. With this in mind I have been looking around the Internet for a source of old time radio and found an excellent storehouse at archive.org.

I noticed while talking with friends that not too many people know about archive.org or assume its only used to hold podcasts. Nothing is further from the truth.

Take a look at  for an excellent collection of old time radio shows and once you've had your fill there, take a look at http://www.archive.org/details/movies and the video archives.

For a quick taste click the play button below and listen to Strange Tales.

Tales of the strange and bizarre, the weird and the wicked. Stories not necessarily of the supernatural, but of the unnatural

(If the player doesn't appear you may need to go to http://www.archive.org/details/oldtimeradio and listen to the radio show there)